the united states senate. this is what makes it broken. when ex-senators come on you and tell you it's broken, current senators claim no. every ex-senator -- >> 31 senators refuse to be the world's greatest deliberative body. >> they would have been judged as being pro-gun. >> thanks for the reality. tough reality, though. thank you, chuck todd. >>> today "politico" reported, "toomey has privately told democrats he hopes to sway six to eight of his gop colleagues to support the final package after all the amendments are resolved. yet right now the only solid republican votes on background checks are toomey and illinois senator mark kirk." they're the only republicans. what are the prospects for getting something passed in the senate after all the talk? senator angus king is an independent senator from maine who caucuses with the democrats. senator king, you're an independent guy. i want your views on what you see and smell on the floor of the united states senate. chuck todd said a lot of these senators, 31 of them, basically are afraid to